The Kunpaetku
by Supersonicsloth
Summary: A Soul Calibur Tira x Talim yuri. Reviews wanted, no matter how hateful and how much they make me run off and cry while hugging a diry teddy bear. By the way, I don't own the characters, Namco does. Updated 'n stuff! Chapter 3. Kinda short though...
1. Chapter 1

**The Kunpaetku...Chapter 1**

Tira moved quickly through the streets of the little German town. There were houses here and there, and friendly people who all would love to greet you to their little town and show you to the nearest inn. To most, it was a very "quaint" town. Of course, Tira had no time to stop and admire it's charm. Hidden under a brown cloak, she walked as quickly as she could to the harbor, where someone had been expecting her. The person in question was none other than Talim, who was sent a letter but a week ago, the contents telling her to head to a town she had never heard of before, for no reason other than "it was extremely important". She expected someone but she had no real idea as Tira approached her on the lonely harbor. Talim hopped up from the edge of the deck and walked to Tira. "Are you the one I was supposed to meet?" She asked, sweetly, but with a touch of annoyance. She must have been waiting a long time. Tira nodded and looked around. "We are alone, right? No one can hear or see any of this..." This made Talim feel a bit uncomfortable. She didn't like secrecy, it always made her nervous, as many things did, and something felt odd to her. The situation suddenly felt uneasy for Talim, but she didn't let it show. "Yes", said Talim shortly, "There's no one here...uh...can you please remove the cloak? It's bothering me." Tira, or to Talim, the mysterious girl, looked down awkwardly. She seemed awfully hesitant, and Talim wondered if maybe she had insulted her. "You know, if you don't want to, I understand, I'm sorry I asked." she said, trying to sound sorry, but really she would like nothing more than to at least see this persons face. "All right...I'll remove it, but you have to stay calm. If you start to scream, I might be forced to hurt you. I'd really hate to..." Tira slipped her hood down, and dropped the cloak, revealing a bright yellow dress that shone slightly in the sunset. Talim stared frozen, recognizing the face of the girl. She had seen Tira's face on a poster, she was wanted for all sorts of murder and theft. Most of Europe was in terror of this girl, and the reward for her capture was enormous.

Talim felt the horrible cold fear fall from her heart and fill her entire stomach. She started to shake, and drew her Tonfa's slowly. Tira realized what was going to happen, and sighed sadly. She wasn't armed, but she had no fear of losing. She just hoped Talim wouldn't be to hurt. Talim stood motionless, trying to see what weapon Tira was wielding, but couldn't see any in her hands. She stepped in and swung, Tira stepping backwards easily. Tira was relived, Talim was so scared, her attacks were slow and predictable. Talim had an expression of determination, but it was obviously troubled. She swung many times, Tira dodging them all. Talim was getting frustrated, and lunged at Tira. Once more, Tira side stepped Talim, but stuck her foot out, causing Talim to fall on her face. Tira quickly helped her up, but Talim struck Tira with a punch almost the instant she was upright again. Tira stumbled back, her cheek pounding. She had no idea such a little girl was so strong. She started to feel worried. People would hear the fight sooner or later, and Tira desperately needed to talk to Talim as soon as possible. Tira decided she would end it then and there and got herself ready. Talim stepped in and swung relentlessly just as before, until Tira saw an opening. Tira pulled her leg back and landed a vicious kick to Talim's stomach. Talim barely made a sound in the shock, and crouched to her knees holding her stomach, then fell on her side. Tears weld up in her eyes and she felt as though Tira had destroyed her insides. She wondered if a kick could kill her.

Tira kneeled down to Talim to see if she was ok. It seemed like she was only hurt, and Tira didn't do as much damage as she had feared. She picked Talim back up on her knees and held her steady. Talim could feel herself crying, and felt humiliated. She wanted to at least go out fighting, not crying and waiting for death. As Tira reached up gently and stroked the tears out of Talim's eyes, Talim flinched and pulled her head away. Tira sighed and turned Talim's head back to her. "At least she's being quiet" thought Tira, as she brushed away more tears. After a moment, Talim realized that Tira was holding her firmly, and could do anything to her that her sick mind could think of. Talim started to struggle, but the pain in her stomach almost made her throw up. Talim desperately tried to pull away, but just ended up looking weak and defeated. Talim started to sob. "W-what are you going to do to me??" She asked, terrified. Tira looked at her with an expression as comforting as she could make it. "Nothing" she said softly, "I'm here to help you. Calm down and listen to me" Talim tried her hardest to calm, but found it nearly impossible. She had never been so scared in her life, and the tears just wouldn't stop streaming down her cheeks, no matter how hard she tried to act brave. "Help m-me with what?" asked Talim, her voice shaking almost as hard as the rest of her body. "I don't need your he-help" Talim wished she hadn't sounded so defiant. She feared it might set the psycho killer off, but instead she heard a comfortingly warm voice. "It's difficult to say this to you, but your...sighs...I can't say this without it sounding crazy...I'll just have to come out with it. Y-your being...hunted?" Talim must have misheard. "Ex-excuse me? Hunted?" Tira nodded. "I don't know why, but there's a monster coming for you. I can't tell you his name, if anyone overhears this, they might be working for him. If they hear his name, they'll know right away what we're talking about. I know this is all very sudden, but we have to get you out of here. The less you know the better." Talim stared, almost forgetting her fear of Tira, having it been replaced with utter confusion. "What? None of this makes sense! First, I would never trust you, a cold hearted murderer! And even if I did, how can you expect me to just up and leave with you because I'm being...Hunted?!" Talim was very angry, something unusual for her. "Talim, quiet down! We can't be heard talking about this!" urged Tira, but Talim didn't listen. "No! I'm not gonna calm down till you tell me what's going on!" It was obvious to Tira that Talim wasn't going to let up. She sighed and lowered her voice. "Ok...I'll try to tell you, but I don't know much myself. There's a cult called the Kunpaetku out somewhere far east, hidden in a very mountainous region. They hunt fragment's of Soul Edge, and seek to destroy Soul Calibur. Now, I don't know why they think this, but they are convinced that you carry a great deal of Soul Calibur's power within your body. They sent a monster after you...a great big man, with red skin and an exposed heart. His mission is to take you alive to the cult shrine so you can be sacrificed on a ceremonial alter. Afterwards, your soul and all it's strength will be absorbed by the monster, supposedly turning it to an apocalyptal beast of destruction." Tira paused for a moment, realizing she hadn't breathed in awhile. Tira tried to judge Talim's expression, but it was unmoving. After a breath, she continued. "I don't know how they know about you, but I've seen the monster. This is insane, I know, but the monster will kill you, wether or not it becomes powerful wont matter afterwards when your soul has been ripped out!" Tira stopped to show she was finished. "That's ridiculous" said Talim simply. "I don't believe a word of this. How do you even know about this plot if it's sooo secret?" Tira frowned. "I...I worked for them at one time...look, it doesn't matter. We have to get you out of here, now!" Talim glared, "Why are you doing this? Why help me if you were going to murder me anyways?" Tira's face went red. "I wasn't going to kill you, I could never hurt you! Listen...I know what you've heard. It's not true, you have to believe me! If I wanted to hurt you, I would have long ago." Talim hadn't thought of that. She tried to decide what to do. At first it seemed obvious. Nothing. This is a murderer, and she would say anything to get Talim alone. The story was crazy anyways, with talk of monsters and sacrifice. Then again...Tira did seem to be very comforting, not a usual attribute of a maniac. She thought hard about the name Kunpaetku, and felt as though she had heard something about it before. Maybe she was telling the truth. Talim was scared, she had no idea what to do. She looked to Tira, and saw Tira staring earnestly, as if desperately wanting her to go with her. She felt Tira's hands slide down from her shoulders to her hips, and Talim felt her face grow hot. "I promise, I would never hurt you...I already feel awful about the fight. Please...trust me?" Talim couldn't help herself from trusting Tira. She felt stupid for believing her even a little, but something about her just felt...protecting, maybe? Talim stared hard into Tira's eyes. She thought long and hard, but suddenly felt herself lose concentration. As she looked into Tira's eyes, she felt a fluttering feeling sweep her. Tira's eyes were so beautiful...but Talim suddenly remembered the situation, and shook it away. Talim sighed and looked away, then back. "I trust you..." she said. She sounded very uncertain, but nothing could be done about it now. Tira had helped her to her feet, and they were already leaving the town.


	2. Chapter 2

**The Kunpaetku...Chapter 2**

It was already night by the time the girls had reached the next town. Talim had no idea where they were, but was too nervous to ask questions. Tira kept a firm grip on Talim's hand. It was merely so she didn't lose her, but Talim felt like a prisoner. Tira keep looking around from under her cloak's hood, making Talim even more nervous. Talim started to look around too, trying to see what Tira was looking for. After a long while, Tira finally spoke. "Ah, here it is", she said, guiding Talim to the front doors of the towns inn. They stepped into a nearly empty lobby, all except for the woman behind the counter shuffling paper. She looked up surprised and straightened her cloths, yawning. She must not have expected people so late. Tira walked up to the counter, "We need a room, what's your cheapest?" the woman behind the counter looked at a paper and said, "Well, a double room, a room with two beds, is 30 marks." "30 marks?!", asked Tira outraged, "We don't have that much to spend!". The woman behind the counter sighed. She never liked working out prices with customers, especially not this late at night. "Well, if you really need a cheaper room, the only thing would be to share a room with only one bed for 15 marks. Really, is 30 marks so bad?" Tira thought for a moment, and looked to Talim, to see what she thought about sleeping in the same bed, but her expression was blank and silent. Tira sighed and handed the woman 15 shiney coins. "I can't believe it...30...", muttered Tira as she was handed their room key. She grabbed Talim's hand and headed off to their room. The woman behind the counter watched them leave holding hands. "Why are two gay women so uptight about sleeping together?" she thought as she went back to organizing papers.

Once in their room, Tira walked right to the bed and sprawled out on it. Talim walked over and sat down on the bed unhappily. She hated the idea of sleeping in the same bed as another girl, especially Tira, who she still didn't completely trust. She'd be surprised if she got any sleep tonight lying next to her. "Well, at least the rooms are nice", said Tira, trying to get Talim to open up a bit. Her constant silence was starting to seem strange to Tira. "I guess 15 marks for a room like this is ok, even if we have to sleep together, dontcha you think?" Talim just sorta nodded. She didn't want to talk right now, too much had happened all at once, and she just wanted time alone to think about it. Tira got up off the bed and grabbed the pair of provided pajamas off the desk. She handed a pair to Talim, and started to untie the strings on her dress. Talim took them and got dressed without really paying attention to anything. If Tira hadn't had held her hand through the town, Talim would have stood unmoving all night, trying to make sense of what's going on. The thought of a giant monster coming for her didn't actually scare her that much. She just couldn't believe it, no matter how much she wanted to just so she could justify going with Tira. It was then that Talim noticed Tira was trying to talk to her. Talim snapped back to reality and groggily asked what Tira wanted. Tira slipped under the covers and Yawned. "Nothing", she said, "I was just asking if you were coming to bed or not.". "Oh" said Talim as she pulled up the covers and laid down on the bed as far away from Tira as she could, not wanting to be to close to the murderer. Tira put out the bed side candle and pulled the blankets up to her neck, turning to Talim. Tira looked down to Talim's stomach. "Does it still hurt?" asked Tira. Talim looked confused, until Tira pressed her index finger to Talim's stomach. "Oh" said Talim "Yeah...a little. I'm fine though. In fact, I don't want to talk about what happened...that was a bad moment for me." Tira put her whole hand on Talim's stomach and rubbed it softly. "I'm really sorry I had to do that, I feel awful about it!" said Tira as she massaged Talim's stomach. Talim shifted and took Tira's hand of her stomach. "Please don't do that, it feels weird." said Talim as she turned over, putting her back to Tira. Tira looked a little hurt. "I wasn't trying anything, you know. I just wanted to make you feel better." said Tira, embarressed at what Talim was suggesting. "It's fine, Tira, but I don't like to be touched that much, that's all.". Talim hoped she hadn't hurt her feelings, something like that would keep her awake all night with guilt. After moment or so of silence, Talim turned back to Tira. "What I don't understand is...why? I mean, I've never met you before in my whole life, why would you travel all this way and put your life in danger for me?" Talim waited for an answer, but Tira took a long time to think of one. "I don't know", said Tira finaly, "It's...something I can't really explain. When I found out that you were going to be destroyed, at first I didn't care. I felt a little bad for you, but as you said, I had never even met you before. But it kept eating away at me, keeping me awake at night, until finally I decided I had to come and save you. I really have no idea why..." Talim didn't seem quite content with this answer. "That's another thing Tira. You still haven't told me how on Earth you even know about this plan. Did you over hear it? Were you spying on them, what?" Tira looked deeply unhappy. "I told you Talim, I...used to do some work for them. I want you to drop it." Tira changed her tone, trying to be comforting again, "Get some sleep, Talim. Enjoy this while it lasts. We won't be able to sleep together in a bed like this very often". "I sure hope not" thought Talim, as she drifted asleep.

Talim woke up early the next morning right up against Tira's stomach. She groaned and rolled away, then sat up on the edge of the bed. She yawned and rubs her eyes, happy Tira didn't kill her last night. She got up out of bed and started undressing as Tira yawned and started to wake. Tira groan sleepily and smiles, "Did you sleep well? Last night, you rolled over against me...it was cute." Talim's face flushed, but she tried to ignore it. "Yeah, I slept fine..." Talim said as she pulled her pants up. "Good", said Tira, getting out of bed, "cause we're walking a long ways today" Talim pulled her shirt over her head. "How far? Is it real far away, cause I'm not a very fast walker..." said Talim, a bit worried she'd end up looking weak in front of Tira again after a few miles of walking. Tira tied up the strings on her dress and put on her shoes, leading Talim out the door. "Not that far", said Tira, passing the same woman as last night on their way through the lobby, "I'd say...20 miles, 22, something like that." Talim stops. "20 miles?! Oooh..." Talim sadly followed Tira out the hotel into the bright sunshine. "Why does it have to be so far away..." said Talim as she sadly followed Tira out of town.

Tira was true to her word, the walk went on for hours and Talim was exhausted. Talim tried her best to look untired, but was panting, her legs and sides aching to Hell. She tried to see if Tira was tired, but she looked unfazed. Talim groaned and struggled to keep the distance between them short. Tira noticed Talim lagging and stopped to let her catch up. Talim hobbled up to Tira and puts her hands on her knees, panting horribly. "Tira...breathing hard Can't we take...a break? We've been walking all day!" Talim sits down on the grass, but Tira instantly pulls her back up by the arm. "No! We can't stop, not even for a moment!" said Tira, still gripping Talim's arm. "But why?" pouted Talim, "My sides hurt so much...please?" Talim put on her best begging face, but Tira stayed firm. "No. People are after you. We have to get you out of this country, and the only wagon that will take us anywhere near "out" is leaving soon. We're almost there, but if we miss it, we'll have to wait another whole month! They'll find us easily by then, so just try your best." Tira held onto Talim's arm and walked with her, a bit slower. Talim moans at first, but decided to keep it together, if only for Tira's sake.

After 15 minutes, though it felt like 6 hours to Talim, they arrived in the next town. Yet again, Talim had never heard of this town, and wondered exactly where in Germany they were...maybe it was to throw off the pursuers? Tira took her over to a small wagon and helped her up. The floor was dirty and covered in...something, but Talim was much to tired to care. She sat right down and breathed heavily as Tira sat down beside her. The wagon lurched and they start moving. Talim looks to Tira, feeling much better. "Where are we headed? Are we really leaving the country?" Tira nods, "Yes, we're heading East to Russia. It will be a long trip, so get comfy." Talim looks extremely surprised, "This wagon ride is going all the way to Russia?!" Tira pauses for a second. "No! That's ridiculous. This wagon isn't even leaving Germany. We're going to have to take many different rides to get there." Talim goes red in the face again. Humiliated she asked such a stupid question, she turned her head the other way and stayed quiet.

The hours roll by, and Talim well beyond bored. She leaned her head back against the wagons wall and looked at the people around her. There were only a few people, some in cloaks like the one Tira was wearing. Nobody really looked happy, and Talim wondered where they were all headed. She looked back to Tira, and saw her looking to her right, staring out the back of wagon for some reason. Talim looked to see why she was staring out that way, but saw nothing. Looking around she saw two men in green hoods sitting across from them. They seemed to stare right at Talim, even though their eyes and most of their faces were hidden. Talim grew nervous and tugged on Tira's robes. "Those two men are staring at us" she whispered, but Tira never stopped looking away from them. Tira grabbed Talim's arm and said "I know.", and she shifted uncomfortably.


	3. Chapter 3

**The Kunpaetku...Chapter 3**

The next two hours of the trip was Hell to Talim. She tried to stop herself from looking at the men, but couldn't shake off the feeling that they really iwere/I with the Kunpaetku, or what ever Tira had said it was called. Tira, however, stared motionless out the back of the wagon. Talim had never seen anyone sit so still, and thought maybe she'd fallen asleep. When the wagon ifinally/I reached it's destination, a town named Potsdam, Tira grabbed Talim and quickly got off, trying to inconspicuously stay hidden in the crowds. Talim looked back and saw the same men on the wagon just a ways behind them. After a few minutes, she was convinced they were following them. She gripped Tira's arm worriedly, and tried to stay as close as possible without stepping on Tira's feet. "They still behind us?" Tira's whisper made anxious Talim flinch. She composed herself and looking back again, then nodded. "Talim, when we go around this next corner, run as fast as you can. Try to run with me so you don't get lost, ok?" It was difficult to hear Tira whisper at all above the crowd of the market place, but Talim sighed nervously and prepared herself to run. She gave one last look to the men behind them, and as soon as they turned the corner, they bolted.

Talim had no idea where they were going or how long they would have to run. Tira had grabbed Talim's hand, and the way she was pulling her made it hard for Talim to run up right, and she feared that she might trip. Suddenly, Tira quickly pulled Talim quickly to the left down a back ally, and Talim lost her footing. She fell hard on her knee, but was quickly back up again before Tira could help her. Though Talim tried to keep a straight face, the pain in her knee was awful. She limped over to the ally's wall and slumped down, trying to stretch out her hurt knee. Tira was hesitant to stop, but reluctantly decided they were hidden enough and sat down, heart beating nervously. Talim calmed down and rested back, exhausted from the run. "Where they with the Kunpaetku? I thought you said a monster was coming for me, they just looked like normal people." Talim asked as soon as she caught her breath. Tira nodded, "Yes, they were definitely were, but nobody from the Kunpaetku are "normal". The monster iis/I after you, but we also have to worry about the cult members. There job is to find you and report our location to Astaroth. I guess he wanted to take you himself." Talim looked confused. "Whose Astaroth? Is he the monster? Or some kinda leader in the cult?" Tira shushed Talim, afraid the name would bring bad luck. "Don't say it to loud, I didn't mean to say it myself...but yes, ihe/I is the monster were hiding from. And now that those members saw us, he's gonna be heading here. If he gets here and can't find us, he'll probably kill the people who live here..." Talim gasped, terrified. "We can't let him do that! I'll give up my soul to him imyself/I if it will save these people!" Tira shook her head. "No, I wont let you. If you give yourself up, what's gonna stop him from destroying this town anyways? Plus, once he gets your soul, he'll become a beast of the apocalypse, and he'll kill way more people than just this one town.". Tira thought she had made her point, but Talim was persistent. "I refuse to continue on as this town gets destroyed. If I have to, then I'll stay and fight him!" Tira sighed, though she admired Talim's nobility and courage. "Your not strong enough to defeat Ataroth", said Tira, "He'll rip you apart as easily as if you ihad/I given yourself up." Talim looked horribly depressed. She thought of all the innocent people that would die because of her, and felt sick to her stomach. "But if your really want to help these people...", Tira continued, "I may have an idea." Talim brightened up and sat anxiously waiting to hear Tira's plan. "If we leave right away, and make it so those cult members see us leave, then they'll redirect As-...the monster from this town. But it's really dangerous...the cult members might forget their orders to not touch you, wanting the glory of bringing you back for themselves. You sure you want to?" Talim nodded confidently, and Tira smiled. When they first met, she thought that Talim was timid and weak, nothing but a burden she was bringing on herself. But as they continued to travel together, she became more and more impressed by her vigor. Maybe Talim didn't need her protection, and she should just go home. Suddenly a sick feeling shot through Tira as she thought about leaving her. She didn't realize how much she wanted to be with Talim, and wondered if Talim felt the same way. Talim looked up at Tira curiously, and pointed to her face. "Your blushing", she said, "is there something wrong?" Tira turned her head away embarrassed. "No, nothings wrong...s-so, how are we gonna get the cult members to follow us?" Talim started to think, and Tira was relieved she dropped the subject. After a moment, Talim had an idea. "Well, they chased us before, right? Why don't we just walk by them, bump into them or something, and then run to somewhere different? We can hide in the woods.". Tira nodded, "That's not bad, I guess we can do that. Are you sure you can run fast enough on your leg though? I saw you hurt it, no use hiding it." Talim grabbed her leg and tried to move it. "Yeah, it's feeling better. I can run, so let's go. If we wait too long, the members will leave."

Tira helped Talim to her feet, and they walked out of the ally nervously, checking around corners and sliding through crowds nervously, ironically attracting lots of attention. Eventually though, they saw the cult members just about to board another wagon, no doubt to go report to Astaroth. The girls ran up quickly and quietly behind the members, and after a moment of hesitation, they walked by them, deliberately elbowing them in the back. The larger of the two men turned to them angrily, but suddenly realized who it was and gasped. Tira looked back over her shoulder and smiled, running off with Talim. The men stood frozen for a second, then came to their sense, running after them. The 4 of them ran past the town limits and into the woods. The men were far behind the girls, winded and breathing hard. It was obvious to them that they weren't going to catch up, and feared for their lives. How would they tell Astaroth that they had actually been so close to the girls that they could grab them itwice/I, and still managed to lose them?

Up ahead, Tira started to slow to a jog, and Talim did the same. Eventually, they had slowed to a stop and were watching the men running up to them. Talim asked Tira what they were doing, but Tira just shushed her and dug her foot into the ground, arms raised. The men could see she was going to try to fight them and they laughed to each other. They pulled out knives and prepared to fight. The men slowed to a stop in front of the girls and looked back and forth between the two of them chuckling. "So...deciding to fight, huh? Of course. Your not the first target whose tried to fight us, in fact most targets do. They feel like they're the hero of some fairy tale, that there's no real danger..." Tira ignored the man's words and motioned to Talim. "Talim, step back. I don't want you getting hit." Talim stood frozen, not willing to leave Tira's side. "Talim, don't worry about me, I'll be fine." Not knowing what to do, Talim finally decided to listen to Tira, but not without trying to aid her a little. She handed her tonfa's to Tira, and headed to the side of the dirt path. Tira smiled to Talim to reassure her she would be fine and turned back to the two men. The man in front smiled, and lunged with his knife without warning. He expected it to be over all ready, and was surprised to see he had missed. Tira had jumped away from the strike, swung at his outstretched arm, and cut the man's wrist deep. Without stopping for a moment, Tira gracefully turned to the other man and kicked him in the side of his head, sending him reeling dizzily. The man who had been cut, I'll call him Bleedy, switched his knife to the other hand and whipped it through the air angrily. Bleedy was getting furious and started to jab with out thinking. He nearly hit his dazed partner, Dizzy, a couple of times in the process. Tira jumped back and away each time Bleedy stabbed, occasionally swiping Bleedy or Dizzy with Talim's tonfa's. Dizzy got around Tira and came at her from her back, while Bleedy charged from the front. Tira waited for the right moment, then jumped to the right. Half a second after she landed, she grabbed Bleedy by the neck and snapped it hard. Talim, who was quietly watching from the side gasped loudly as she heard the crack, and winced as Bleedy's body dropped to the floor. Dizzy started to shake and dropped his knife as Tira grabbed his cloak and pulled his face close. "Tell your monster that I'll kill anyone of you that tries to hurt this girl. She's under my protection, and I have no problem spilling some blood...got it?" The man shook his head cowardly as he trembled. Tira shoved him and he ran off, leaving his dead partner behind. Talim timidly walked up to Tira and looked down at the dead body, trying to look away. Tira grabbed Talim's arm and hugged her tight. "I'm sorry you had to see that...come, we should keep going." Talim nodded in agreement and took her tonfa's back. Talim grabbed Tira's arm and they headed off to the next town, victorious. Unfortunately though, Tira hadn't noticed that Dizzy had slipped something into her jacket's pocket when she held him close, and now Tira and Talim were in more danger than ever before. Inside Tira's breast pocket were sliver-like shards of Soul Edge, and Astaroth could easily track them anywhere now, no matter where they hid.


End file.
